


Love in the Bitters

by Java_bean



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Drinking, F/F, Humanstuck, Jazz - Freeform, M/M, Organized Crime, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prohibition, Smoking, Speakeasies, look at me so original, lots and lots of slang, oh gee would you look at that I wrote ANOTHER fic where karkat's in the midnight crew, they will be very important later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2019-08-19 15:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16537241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Java_bean/pseuds/Java_bean
Summary: Karkat Vantas is a member of the city's largest criminal organization, in charge of running booze into the speakeasies that keep the city's night life alive.  There is a certain establishment that he likes to frequent, run by good friends and filled with jazz.  The atmosphere is warm and familiar.Then he meets someone else there.  Someone not as familiar.His name is Dave.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey!!! :D  
> This is the first chapter of what will hopefully be a very long fic, set in the 1920s during prohibtion in america. I don't currently know when I will be able to update, but I do know that it's...not going to be soon, unfortunately. But! I am very excited about this project and where it's going!  
> Thank you in advance for reading, and for being patient with me about updates <3
> 
> I would like to give a special thanks to Ish (weaksauce) for looking at this and editing for me! You are a lovely friend and person, fucking superb you funky little you.

The night has just barely begun, and you’re already exhausted.

Today was delivery day, which meant you’ve already spent a good several hours waiting at the pier with the boss and some of the more trusted members of his inner circle. There was a cold wind blowing across the dark and salt tainted water, and the only source of warmth available being your too thin jacket. You couldn’t even give yourself the benefit of visibly shivering, as it would show weakness that you absolutely under no circumstances would want to reveal you had.

The boat came later than it was scheduled to arrive. While the boss sorted through the reason behind that with the captain you and several other people were supposed to take stock of the boat’s wares and make sure everything was accounted for. Once that was over and done with, the cargo was packed and divided between four cars, and your separate delivery routes given. You’re in charge of driving and overseeing the delivery to a few speakeasies and one particularly wealthy and powerful resident in the area. 

This is the third delivery you’ve been given since you joined the organization, and though you appreciate being trusted with such an important job, tonight you’d really rather not. If the option had been granted to you, you would have rather stayed at home and read a book or something, watched over the house while things went down. But the option wasn’t granted to you, and it’s not like you can gripe about it at all. So instead you just button your lip and do your job.   
You sneak around town, making your deliveries as incognito as possible and exchanging pleasantries with your clientele. With the business you’re in, you can’t afford to rile em up. And since you’re so “shockingly” young, sometimes they let you wet your whistle or slip you a little extra kale for your trouble. Not often, but sometimes. 

Tonight is not one of those nights where you get to sneak hooch or pocket a couple cents, though. Tonight is nothing but straight business in the most crooked places. That’s alright, too, it’s to be expected. In your opinion, it’s better to just make the delivery and scram. The last thing you want is to be caught in one of these places.

You’re on your second to last delivery when you’re hit by a wave of smooth jazz and hypocrisy. You take a deep breath, and a warm, heavy scent fills your lungs. The air feels thick with aromatic smoke, mostly tobacco but some closer to narcotic. The jazz ensemble is just beginning to play, and the first few chords tug at your heartstrings and beg you to stay here and relax awhile. And, you suppose, maybe you should. 

There’s only one delivery left to make, and it’s to a certain creepy rich politician who gives you a horrible case of the heebie jeebies. You know you’re not needed for this particular delivery, and if you don’t have to be there then you’d really rather fucking not. 

You turn towards your associates. “I think you guys can handle the last one without me. I’m gonna end my night here, take in some music and maybe tip a few. Can you keep your traps shut to the big cheese about it? If you keep mum I’ll owe you one.”

One of them rolls his eyes, but they all nod their agreement with some reluctance. You don’t do this kind of thing very often, and a favor isn’t exactly something to sneeze at. 

That’s enough to satisfy you, so you nod your goodbyes to them and walk on over to the bar. You lean against the counter and rap your knuckles against it to try and get Jade’s attention.

“Yes, Karkat, I see you.” Jade turns her head, rolling her eyes at you. “I’ll be with you in a minute, just hold your horses.”

You watch her as she talks to a few patrons. She reaches under the counter and grabs an unmarked bottle, pouring its contents into crystal glasses and sliding them down. 

“There you go.” She tucks a lock of dark, curly hair behind her ear. “That’s some mighty strong coffin varnish, so don’t drink too fast.”

One of them raises their glass to her, and Jade winks before heading your direction.

“Karkat,” she smiles at you as she fixes her hair, replacing the loose strand back into her already messy bun, “I feel like it’s been awhile since I’ve seen your little babyfaced mug in here. What can I get you?”

“That’s total malarky, Jade, I stayed late for the last delivery, too. And don’t call me babyface.” 

“I’ll stop calling you that as soon as you lose all that baby fat.” She reaches across the counter and pats your cheek. “Now did you want something or did you just want to jaw the night away with me? Because if that’s it then I’m sorry but these are business hours and I have other things to do.”

You swat her hand away from your face and are thankful that the room is so dark. You’d hate for anyone to see how deeply flushed your face is. “I don’t give a damn what it is you get me, just pour me some stuff!”

You regret snapping at her the moment it leaves your mouth. It must be visible on your face, because Jade doesn’t get quite as upset at you as she would have if someone else would have said that to her with your tone. You’re so lucky she already knows you and thinks of you as a friend. 

Or at least...she thinks of you as the person who delivers the booze every couple weeks.   
She does, however, fix you with an intense glare and doesn’t move. It takes all of the energy you have remaining not to shrink away from her gaze. 

“Please?”

She grins. “That’s what I thought you said.”

Jade pours liquid amber into a glass and passes it over to you. “Drink slow.”

You take the glass and hold it carefully in your hands as you navigate through the smoky room. You want to find a spot up close where you can sit and listen to the band play. Somehow you manage to locate an empty table near enough that you can watch them but hopefully not close enough that they can see you.

You know you have a tendency to get lost in the music, it’s just how you are. What you don’t want is other people seeing you like that. You want to be taken seriously and be treated with respect, neither of which will happen if anyone witnesses you swaying and gazing goo goo eyed over at the musicians.

There are some lights illuminating the small platform the band is on that you’ve heard Jade refer to as the stage, but you would beg to differ. Yes, it’s big enough to house up to a twelve piece band comfortably, but it only stands several inches off the ground and is connected to the back wall. The so called stage’s lights, you notice, are a variety of candles. Most of them are slender and bone white or rounded and deep violet. Their flames flicker with every movement from the players on stage and cast interesting shadows against them. 

Even in this atmosphere, the candlelight almost feels a little too dramatic. Not that you’d expect anything less from the establishment’s co-owner, Rose Lalonde.

You’re surprised to find her on stage tonight. Her performances are so rare that sometimes you’ve had to beg her just to play a few notes on her violin for you. But there she is now, illuminated by candlelight and enveloped in a haze of drifting smoke. Here she is, and she has the whole room’s attention.

In your opinion, Rose deserves to hold an audience captive, and anything less than a fully entranced audience for her is both a travesty and blasphemy to music in general. You think you told her that once after one of the handful of performances you’ve seen. You’re pretty sure she laughed at you. 

You can’t say for certain if that actually happened, because it was also the first time you’d gotten completely plastered.

Either way, you still think that, but you’re definitely not going to tell her so.

You hold your breath as she brings the violin up to her chin, the bow in her left hand tilted just so. 

Just as you think you might pass out from lack of air, the first note cuts through the air and resonates deep in your chest. You know your heart is pounding, but it feels like you’re hollow inside as you listen and are filled up with nothing but the full, sweet sound of Rose’s violin.

Okay, maybe you do have to tell her. 

There’s no way in hell you’re doing that sober.

Ignoring the one thing Jade told you to do, you tip the glass back and drink it all in one gulp. It burns down your throat and you try your best to suppress the urge to cough. You only manage to do so discreetly into your elbow.

You contemplate going back up to the bar and getting another drink, but then you’d have to admit to Jade that you did already finished the one she gave you and knowing Jade, she’ll find some way to tease you about it. And if you head over to the bar, which is probably a lot fucking noisier than it is up here, then you might miss out on hearing Rose play. 

You’ll just sit here and wait.

Rose, of course, isn’t playing alone. There’s an entire band playing accompaniment to her lead in perfect tone and harmony. It’s a surprisingly lively song for a set you assume Rose picked, and you can’t help but tap your foot under the table to the beat. You thank god for the long table cloth preventing anyone from seeing you do so. 

In order to prevent yourself from getting completely lost in the sound and probably doing something embarrassing, you decide it’s in your best interest to focus all of your attention on one of the band members. Rose is automatically out because you know her and she’ll definitely bring it up if she catches you staring at her. You let your eyes wander around behind her.

Unfortunately, you’ve played this focus game a lot, and you recognize almost all of the band members on sight. It’s going to be really difficult for you to keep your attention on someone you’ve already done this with, but from the looks of it, you may just have to do that. Just to be certain that’s what you’ll have to do, you take a quick glance over at the piano player and-

Oh.

Who the fuck is that?

You think he must be new, you don’t recognize him at all. Given his face, and the weird glasses he’s wearing, there’s no way you would have forgotten seeing him. 

Looks like you’ve found tonight’s target.

You relax in your seat and openly stare at the pianist as he plays. He seems completely focused on playing, his head down and his fingers flying across the keys. With your attention on him, you can really hear the piano clearly over all the other instruments and are surprised to find that he’s not only keeping up with Rose, but he’s playing just as well if not...better than her.

You shake your head. No, you must be hearing it wrong. You don’t think anyone can play quite as well as Rose can, much less some new guy you’ve never seen before. Besides, the two instruments are barely even comparable. 

As the song changes and the violin comes in stronger than before, seemingly piercing straight through you, your gaze travels back up to his face. From the soft light of the candles, you can’t clearly make out his features as well as you would like to. What you can see is the way the light glints off his round and incredibly dark glasses, and the fact that his face is almost completely devoid of emotion. 

You watch as he bites his lower lip in concentration. You glance down at his hands. They’re moving so fast they almost seem like blurs from where you’re sitting. You lean in a bit closer to see if you can make out what notes he’s playing, but you can’t. That’s...pretty damn impressive. How is he doing that?

Before you even think about what you’re doing, you whistle.

Once you catch yourself, your face is immediately on fire. You don’t know why you did that. Yes, his playing’s impressive, but normally you wouldn’t do that no matter how much you appreciated the music. Which you do, you appreciate it a hell of a lot, but drawing unnecessary attention to yourself over it just isn’t something you like to do. Luckily for you, it doesn’t seem like anybody heard you over the sound of the music playing. 

You lean back in your seat slowly and move your eyes back to his face.

Your heart stops completely.

Oh god, he’s looking right at you, you can feel the weight of his eyes through those dark glasses he’s wearing. He’s not even looking at the piano at all, but he’s still playing perfectly. Not a single note sounds out of place. You slide down in your seat, your face burning deep crimson from embarrassment. You’re aware he’s looking at you, but you hope against hope that he can’t actually see you all that well.

He smirks at you as if he can hear exactly what you’re thinking before turning back to the piano. Not that he even needs to, apparently. You feel like he mostly did that for your benefit. 

You’re not sure whether you’re relieved that he did that or irritated that this random pianist thinks he’s doing you a favor by not looking at you. You grit your teeth in annoyance and go back to looking at his hands as the heat runs away from your face. At some point, probably while you were embarrassing yourself to the piano player, your foot stopped tapping. Your fingers pick up the slack from your foot and start tapping on your glass instead.

Another song later, the band takes a short break. As the musicians exit the stage, Rose takes a moment to announce she’s finished playing for the night. You’re disappointed she’s done, but the fact that she even stayed long enough to play three whole songs is unbelievable. Honestly, you’re just ecstatic that you were even here for this tonight. 

Which reminds you, you were going to tell her that. Now seems like as good a time to do that as any.

You get up from your seat with your empty glass still in hand just as Rose strolls by you. You don’t even manage to get a word out before she’s too far away for you to speak. Instead you trail her over to the bar. 

“Rose-”

She lays her violin down on the counter and pulls Jade over to her, kissing her deeply.   
Maybe now’s not the best time to talk to her about this, after all. You stand awkwardly at the counter and hold your empty glass to your chest. It’s not like you can even ask Jade for a refill, since she’s a little preoccupied at the moment. 

“Hey,” someone sidles up beside you.

You glance at them out of the corner of your eye, and you feel heat flash up your neck towards your face before you will it back down. The man you accidentally whistled at is standing right next to you. He’s leaning one arm heavily against the counter at an angle, his head propped up on his hand so he’s looking up at you. Or at least you believe he’s looking up at you, you can’t tell at all because of his black glasses.

“Hi?” You lean a little further away from him to make some distance. You’re not comfortable being this close to some guy whose name you don’t even know.

He smiles at you, his teeth white and almost dazzling in the dim light. “I saw you from the stage. Thought you looked a little thirsty and figured your poor throat could use a little hooch.”

He slides a glass in front of you. You eye it suspiciously while still clutching the empty one close. 

“Come on, it’s just tiger’s milk, not the tiger itself.” He laughs, edging it a little closer to you with one finger. “If it’s anything, it’s the cat’s meow. It’s not gonna bite ya or something. Maybe it’ll even loosen you up a little, you look a little stiff.”

He’s clearly not going to leave you alone about this. You glower at him and snatch the glass off the counter, replacing it with your empty one. You take a sip.

“So? That enough to get your tongue all loose to talk for a little while?” 

You eye him warily. “Listen, fella, I appreciate the drink and all, but I’m not the type to bump gums with any old beau who happens to tip some kale in my direction. So thanks, but I’m gonna take this and blow.”

You turn around and walk back to your seat. You still have a few minutes before the band starts playing again, but it’s not like you can stay over at the bar anymore after that. Part of you regrets not starting up a conversation with the pianist, he really does seem like an excellent musician. His over friendly demeanor threw you off, though, you’re honestly surprised you didn’t say something even ruder than that to him. 

You take another sip of your drink and glance back to the bar. The pianist looks like he’s chatting happily with Jade and Rose as Jade pours him another drink. Damn, if only you’d stayed at the bar a little longer, you could have talked to Rose for a bit.

The pianist twists and gestures over to you, catching your eye in the process. He grins and waves to you. You immediately turn around in your seat and stare down at your drink as your face grows hot again. You can’t believe you got caught looking at him again. Fuck. And Jade saw you this time. You’re never going to hear the end of this. 

You keep your head down and sip your drink slowly. By the time the band’s gathering back to the stage, you’re only halfway done with it. You feel a hand brush your arm, your skin prickles at the touch.

You look up, and it’s that smug pianist again. Of course it is. Your eyes follow him as he walks backwards up to the stage.

“Hey, Karkat,” fuck, he knows your name now? What are you thinking, of course he does, he was talking to Jade, “you gonna watch me this time? If I catch your pretty little peepers on me again I’ll play a tune just for you.”

You roll your eyes but are intrigued by the prospect of having something played specifically for you, even if it is by a stranger whose name you don’t even know. “In your dreams, mac. Why don’t you button your lip and tickle some ivories already?”

“If I play them well enough, will you let me tickle yours?” He wiggles his eyebrows at you as he steps up and takes his seat at the piano.

God, that doesn’t even mean anything and you’re still blushing like a bluenose in a den of hookers. 

You hear him laugh as he brushes his hand over the piano keys to warm up. “Jade was right, you are fun to tease.”

The band starts playing again before you can get the “fuck you” out of your throat. Instead you just sit back and drink, glaring at the pianist’s hands with as much subtlety as possible. You don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that you’re still looking, but this is one of your favorite songs and you’re interested in watching him play.

You try your best to keep your eyes on his hands as you drain the rest of your drink. You put the glass down and consider getting another one. After another drink you could probably summon up enough nerve to tell Rose how much you liked her performance without making a complete idiot of yourself. 

Or at least, without caring at all about how much of an idiot you’re being.

Plus if you drink it at the bar then you don’t have to risk possibly making eye contact with that pianist anymore. Then you’ll have the upper hand in this weird thing you have going on with him. 

Yes, this is a perfect plan. 

You start to get up when you feel a hand rest on your shoulder. Your empty glass is replaced with a full one. 

“Courtesy of the gentleman at the piano.” Jade says, squeezing your shoulder and winking at you. 

“Thanks.” Well, there goes your plan. “Do you know what his name is, Jade?”

“Dave Strider.” She explains, leaning closer so she doesn’t have to yell over the music. “He just swept into town earlier. A distant relation of Rose’s, very distant.”

A relation of Rose’s? Maybe being musically gifted runs in the family. “How distant?”

“So distant Rose didn’t even know he existed until he showed up and requested to stay with us. Of course, neither of us are that concerned if it’s true or not, considering the nice little sum he’s payed up in rent so far.”

“You’re saying he’s rich or something?” 

“Why?” Jade grins mischievously. “Does that rouse your interest?”

“No,” you hide your face in your drink, “of course it doesn’t. Don’t be stupid, Jade. Why don’t you go back to your girl behind the bar.”

“Oh, I will. But I’ll be back once you finish up that one.” She says, tapping the rim of your glass. “I’m supposed to keep these coming for the rest of the night.”

“The rest of the night?”

She laughs as you watch her walk away. “Or until you give up.”

Until you give up? 

You look down at your drink and take an experimental sip. It’s a lot stronger than the first two you had.

All night until you give up. 

So...this is a challenge, then?

You look up at Dave and raise an eyebrow at him. You know he catches your eye, because his stoic face breaks out in a big smile. 

You tip your glass back and drink without breaking eye contact with him. 

You swear you hear him snort as you put the empty glass back down on the table and gesture for Jade to come back. 

“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming!” She calls from the bar before walking over and trading glasses with you. “I thought I told you to drink slow.”

“That was only my third one, I am drinking them slow.” You argue as you accept the new one. “Stop worrying about it, Jade, just keep them coming.”

“Jesus, Karkat, what’s gotten into you tonight? You’re not usually this keen on boozing.”

You drink some and grit your teeth. “Dave’s gotten into me.”

“Oh has he, now?” She laughs.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” God, you guess you haven’t quite reached that point where you don’t care about what you’re saying anymore. How many times are you going to set your own face ablaze tonight? “I just don’t want to lose.”

“Based on how much you’re drinking and your low constitution, I’d say you’re definitely going to end up losing something tonight.” She rolls her eyes at you. “But if you and Dave both insist, I’ll keep them coming.”

Jade is nothing if not a woman of her word. You sit there, tapping your foot along to the music and watching Dave continue to play as you drink as much as you can as quickly as possible. Before you even have to ask Jade or Rose to come over, you already have a new one in front of you. If there’s anything they love more than teasing you about stupid things you’ve said, it’s watching you do things that are equally stupid and self destructive. 

They probably wouldn’t like watching you do that so much if you actually listened to them when they gave you advice or told you to stop being an idiot.

Like this time, for example. You really should have listened to Jade. You started to feel buzzed around the fourth drink. After the sixth, you’re completely fried.

Everything after that just felt like regret.

The last so many songs are lost to the haze that has overtaken your memory. You know you were really into them when they were playing, but as soon as they end you have no idea what was played at all and you hate that so much. You stayed here to listen to some jazz and you didn’t even get to accomplish that.

You groan and lay your head down on the table. 

“You alright, Karkat?” Rose asks as she puts another drink in front of you. 

“No.” You push it away from you. “Take it back, I give up.”

“So you’re through with the free drinks, then?” Instead of taking the drink away, Rose sits down beside you.

“Yeah.” You grumble as you move it a bit closer to her. “I can’t drink anymore. Let Dave know I lost. I’m going home.”

You start to stand up, but it makes you dizzy and you’re forced to sit down again until it stops. 

“How exactly are you planning on getting home in this sorry state?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think about it.” You shrug. “Cab?”

“Yes, a cab could be a good idea,” she nods, “if you’re completely screwy. Karkat, I’m going to level with you, you’re so zozzled right now there’s no way you wouldn’t get pinched on the spot.”

“I’ll walk home, then.” It’s not that far, you can make it.

You start to stand up.

Rose brings you back down. “Did you hear a word I said?”

“Lay off, Rose, it’s fine!” You wave a hand at her dismissively as you attempt to stand up again. “I’ve got everything all worked out.”

It’s really cold out. If you grab a cup of joe on your way, you should be at least a little sobered up by the time you get home. 

You stumble a few steps towards the door before tripping over your own feet. Luckily, you manage to catch yourself. 

Unluckily, your lack of motor skills doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Okay, that’s it.” You hear Rose sigh behind you. You glance to see her slide the full glass of booze over to Jade as she walks over to you, taking you by the elbow. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

You walk forward a few more steps, most of your weight leaning on her. The only sound you can hear is the tapping of her heels on the floor with each step. You guess that means the music’s over. Too bad you can’t remember most of it. 

“Rose!” You look over her shoulder and see Dave at the bar, waving over to her. “You going somewhere?”

“I’m taking Karkat home.” She calls back to him. “Actually, you should come, too, Dave, seeing as this is partially your fault.”

“My fault?” You watch him push away from the bar and start walking towards you. His quick hands are hidden in his pockets. You hate that you’re disappointed by the fact that you won’t be able to examine them closer. “What did I do?”

“You gave him so much giggle juice you left him walking funny.” Rose scolds, lightly punching him in the arm with her free hand.

Dave shrugs. “Not my fault if a fella knows a good deal when he sees one.”

“Yes, but it is your fault if you phrase it like any sort of challenge.” She retorts quickly. “You’re new, so you don’t know any better, but please keep in mind for the future that Karkat’s a bit of a goof with a dense idiocy streak.”

“Jesus, Rose, that’s a little harsh.” You grumble. “I could say mean shit about you, too. Did you know you’re-”

“Karkat, I meant it in the nicest way possible.” Her cool hand covers your mouth. “But if you say anything about me right now you might find yourself short one ride.”

Since your mouth is currently covered by her hand, you have no choice but to nod your agreement. 

“Good.” She removes her hand and wipes it on her dress. “So, are you coming, Dave?”

“Sure, I’ve got nothing else to do.” Dave looks at you and grins. “Do you need me to grab you under the other arm and haul you out of here?”

“Of course I don’t.” For the millionth time tonight, you feel your face flush with embarrassment. “Rose, let me go. I can walk by myself.”

She does what you ask, and you walk ahead of her and Dave with a purpose. Your steps are still as unsteady and wobbly as before, but you keep your head up and keep walking towards the door as if you’re one hundred percent sober. Rose and Dave are both only one step behind you. 

You shiver once you step outside. It’s colder out than you remember, and you rub your arms to keep warm. Since you have no idea where the car is, Rose takes the lead. The car is a short walk down the street.

“Can I lay down in the back?” You request as Rose opens the driver’s side door.

“I don’t see why not.” She shrugs. “Go ahead.”

You crawl into the back and lay down so you’re staring up at the roof. You hear the door to the passenger’s seat slam shut as Dave gets in. She starts the car.

“Rose, do you need directions?” You’re going to have to sit up if she does so you can see the streets better. That’s something you absolutely don’t want to do, but you’ll do it if you have to.

“No, I know the way.”

The road is bumpy and it makes you regret deciding to lay down. You thought you’d feel better, but it just feels like you have tiny hammers bumping against the back of your skull. You don’t think you’re going to be feeling very good in the morning after this.

You groan and cover your face with your hands.

“Hey, Karkat, you okay back there?” You peek through your fingers to see Dave, twisting around in the front seat to look at you. “You don’t sound too good.”

“I’m fine.” You reply. “I’m just peachy fucking keen, Dave.”

“If you throw up in my car again, I’m kicking you out.” Rose says as she turns a corner.

“I’m not gonna hurl in your car!” You don’t mean to yell your response at her, but you have almost no control over your own volume. “And I already apologized for that.”

“I know, but I’m just telling you now. I let you off easy the first time because you’d never gotten drunk before, but if you do it now you’re really going to be hitting the street.”

“I never said I was going to throw up.” You insist. The car hits a particularly large bump. For a second you’re afraid you might have to take back what you just said. “But that’s fair.”

“Damn right, it’s fair.” 

You think you’re getting close to home. Suddenly, you remember that there’s something you wanted to say to Rose. 

“Rose! Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose!” You tap on the back of her seat urgently to get her attention.

“What? What is it?” She asks, her tone mirroring your urgency. “Should I stop?”

“No. I had something I wanted to tell you.” You reply, letting your hand fall uselessly to your side. “You played beautifully tonight. Wish you played more often, but still I’m really glad I could hear you play. I don’t think I’ll ever hear someone play the violin as well as you do.”

Just as you thought she would, she laughs. “Thank you, Karkat. But I don’t think I’ll be playing quite as often as you’d like me to.”

“I know.” You reply regretfully. “But I just wanted you to know that I love hearing you play.”

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“And you,” You wave a hand over to Dave, who’s still looking at you, “I don’t know if I like you at all as a person, but you played really fucking amazing and I was deeply impressed.”

In the dark, you can barely see Dave’s furrowed brow. “Thanks?”

“Oh, you should definitely be thankful.” Rose replies before you can say anything. “Compliments from Karkat are rare, even more so compliments about music. And this is coming from drunk Karkat so you know these are genuine.”

“Huh.” Dave nods. “I didn’t know you were such a music expert.”

“Not an expert.” You shrug. Boy, do you wish you were, though. “I just like jazz.”

“He says that, but he’s just about as close to an expert on it as you’re going to get.” Rose comments. “And while I’m on the subject; Karkat, you’re not too bad a musician yourself. Jade and I would be happy to have you play at The Penthouse if you ever get over that stage fright.”

“Yeah, like that’ll ever happen.” You snort. The amount of drinks it would take to get you up there would likely kill you first.

“Karkat, you play?” Dave sounds genuinely interested.

“Yeah,” you nod, “I’ve got a trumpet that I’ve been playing for a few years.”

“And he’s very good at it.” Rose adds. 

God, that’s the best compliment you’ve ever received. You’re pretty sure she’s only saying that to be nice, but you appreciate it all the same. 

“Trumpet, huh?” Dave grins at you before leaning back into his seat. “You know what, I can see that. You strike me as the horn type. If you’re as good as Rose is saying you are, maybe we should all get together and play sometime. What do you think, Karkat?”

“I think that’s a pretty bold request from someone I just met.” You don’t think you’d be able to keep up with him and Rose very well, either. And if they got Jade involved? Forget about it. “Not in this lifetime.”

“Well, what about the next one?”

“What?” 

“If I get to know you better, say, over a hot java and some breakfast, would you play with me?”   
He asks. “A quick session? Twenty minutes, tops.”

Rose parks the car. You sit up and hold your head. Out the window, you can see your house. The lights are on. Fuck, you’re going to be in so much trouble when you get inside.

“Is this you trying to razz me, Dave?” You ask. “I don’t know what kind of sap you take me for, but I’m not into that shit. Now if that’s all you had to say, I’m gonna get a wiggle on.” 

You open the door and start to get out of the car. You hunch into your jacket, shoving your hands deep into your pockets as you walk.

“Karkat, hey wait a second!” Dave follows you out of the car and into your driveway. He pulls on your jacket, causing you to nearly fall over. He manages to help steady you before you do. “I know you don’t know me at all, but believe me I’m not the type that would razz you like that or something. I mean, I’m not saying I would never mess with you, but not about something like that. Please, would you mind too much if I took you out tomorrow? Or maybe not tomorrow, but sometime? I’d really like to.”

You look up at him and see your confused face reflected back at you in his dark lenses. “Why would you want to do that?”

“I don’t know. I guess because you’re the first person I’ve really talked to here and,” he shrugs, “you’re interesting.”

You? Interesting? Boy, is he in for a surprise.

“Okay, fine.” You roll your eyes at him. “I’ll meet up with you. Maybe not tomorrow, but sometime this week.”

“Great.” He nods. “When?”

“I don’t know yet. Just keep yourself available.”

“Got it.” Dave lets go of you and starts heading back to the car. As he opens the door, he turns back around to face you. 

Dave lifts his glasses, allowing you to see his eyes for the first time tonight. Unfortunately, he’s too far away from you to really make out the color. He winks at you, and you feel your heart skip a beat. “See you around.”

You watch, flustered and completely frozen in place as Dave and Rose drive away. You spend a moment just standing there and going over tonight’s events before turning around and heading to the house. Your steps are still a little uneven, but there’s nothing you can do about that. 

The lights are still on, which means your dad is awake and probably waiting for you. You stop in front of the door, your fingers wrapped around the cold metal doorknob. You take a deep breath in preparation for what’s to come.

The door creaks open when you push it. Stepping out of the dark and straight into the house’s blinding lights leaves you blinking in the doorway as you kick off your shoes. You can feel eyes glaring into your back as you close the door behind you.

“And where the hell have you been all night?” 

You turn to look at your dad, sitting on the stairs and scowling at you. His suit looks more disheveled than usual, and his hat and tie are laying discarded beside him. 

“Penthouse.” You admit as you walk in and toss your jacket onto the nearest hook. There’s no point in lying to him, if he really wanted to know he could have gotten the information out of any of the people you were with. “Rose was playing tonight, so I wanted to stay and listen.”

“So you shirked the rest of your responsibilities to drink yourself into a stupor?”

“I’m not in a stupor!” You argue. “Besides, I wasn’t needed for Ampora and you know it. The less people involved, the better.”

He moves his hat and tie, and you take it as an invitation to sit next to him.

“You may be right about that,” he agrees, “but that doesn’t excuse what you did. That’s insubordination, Karkat. If you were anybody else I would have thrown you out of the organization by now with a little warning. You’re lucky I’m biased in your favor.”

“I’m sorry.” You sigh. You know he’s right, you’re getting special treatment because of your relationship with him. “I didn’t really think about it. I had a long day and I needed a break, it won’t happen again. Not on your time, anyway.”

“I don’t care if you’re doing it on my time, like I said, I’m biased towards you.” He pats your leg affectionately. “Just call next time. I thought you’d gotten pinched or something.”

“Okay.” You nod. “I can do that. Sorry I worried you.”

“It’s fine, I told you I don’t give a shit. Just let me know next time before you go off on your own again. Why don’t you go to bed and we’ll talk about what you’ve been up to in the morning, you look beat.”

You stand up and start to climb the stairs, holding on to both the wall and the railing for support. “Good night, then.”

You hear him head down last few steps and shuffle down the hall. “Night, kid.”

You get to your room and collapse into bed, fully dressed. You bury your face in your pillow and groan into its softness. It’s been a very long and very eventful night, mostly because your mind is full of that new pianist, Dave.

You’re more than a little indignant about the challenge he solicited, and the casually teasing way he talked to you. Above that, you’re still reeling from his request to spend more time with you. He sounded sincere, but you’re not sure if you were too drunk or too hopeful to tell if that was real or just your imagination.

Was it bad that you felt flattered he wanted to hear you play even though you’re subpar at best compared to him and Rose? Was it a mistake to agree to spend time with him because he’d acted so confident and sure of himself and his actions until that point where he practically begged you to? 

What are you even planning on doing with him, when the time comes?

These, you know, are worries that sober Karkat will have to deal with. Drunk and tired Karkat couldn’t come up with a solution to ripping a paper bag, let alone how to deal with whatever the fuck you’ve gotten yourself into. 

You kick the covers back and curl up underneath them. You feel sorry for yourself in eight or so hours. You right now, though? You’re just hoping you can get to sleep quickly. 

Maybe it’s all the alcohol, or maybe it’s the snippets of tonight’s jazz playing in your head, but somehow you manage to drift easily into a deep and pleasantly dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry I know it's been a really long time since I touched this fic but I've been busy :(
> 
> I promise updates won't take as long from now on!! 
> 
> Anyway forewarning there's smoking in this chapter and probably will be throughout the fic. A lot of people smoked in the twenties and also I think Karkat with a smoker's voice is...nice. Think about it. 
> 
> Also sorry if this chapter is boring, as hard as I tried it is still pretty much 4k of Karkat trying to study and failing lol
> 
> I hope you like reading it, though!!

Your head is pounding louder than a drum solo being pounded by a soulful musician during a fast paced number. You crack your eyes open, and god the sunlight burns. It makes your eyes tear up of their own accord.

You shove your head under the pillow and throw your blanket over for good measure. You’re so tired, you just want to sleep forever. Or at least for another hour. But you don’t think you’ll even be able to accomplish even that much. 

Your throat is scratchy and your tongue feels like it’s bloated and made of sandpaper. You try to swallow, but nothing happens. You’re aching for a glass of water. There’s no way you’re going to be able to get to sleep like this. Fuck.

You sit up slowly and start to crawl out of bed. You stand up and wrap your blanket around yourself to block out any peripheral light and any chill that could threaten to seep in. You step carefully down the stairs so you don’t trip over the blanket on your way.

There’s a smell tickling your nose that’s coming from the kitchen. Eggs, bacon, the heavy bitter scent of coffee. You drift towards it, your stomach moaning so loud it hurts your oversensitive brain. How the hell didn’t you notice how hungry you were until just now? 

You wander into the kitchen and find your Dad standing with his back to you, cooking diligently at the stove. 

“So you’re finally awake.” He gestures over to the island with an egg covered spatula. “Why don’t you take a seat? Breakfast’s almost ready.”

You drag yourself over and climb onto one of the stools, laying your head down against the cool countertop. 

“So how’d you sleep?”

You groan in reply.

He snorts. “Thought as much. What do you think the problem was? Trouble sleeping? Or maybe something else, like _ALL THAT LOUD JAZZ?_ ” 

You flinch and cover your head with your hands. “Stop talking.”

“Relax, I’m just pulling your leg, kid.” He slides something towards you. You look up long enough to determine that it’s a cup of coffee. “You want any cream and sugar or are you good with it like that?”

You wrap your hands around the cup to warm them and pull it closer to you, lifting your head just enough that your can put your face in the steam. “This is fine.”

You inhale deeply, already feeling the caffeine start to take effect. He puts a plate of food in front of you. It’s just as your nose led you to believe; an egg, sunny side up, and a couple pieces of slightly burned bacon. Despite the desert your mouth has become, you almost start salivating.

“So,” your Dad takes a seat beside you and sips his coffee noisily, “Rose was playing at the Penthouse last night?”

You nod as you cut into your egg, yolk spilling out and pooling on the plate. “Yeah. It was nice.”

“Must have been, to get you to stick around that long.” He comments. “Was there some special occasion or some shit, or did she just feel like plucking some strings?”

You furrow your brow and bring your cup of coffee to your mouth, blowing on it softly to cool it. “I don’t know.”

That’s a good question, but it never occurred to you to ask. It does seem out of character for her to play out of the blue. The only thing you can think of that you could even classify as “special” would be Dave’s arrival.

Jesus Christ, you forgot all about Dave. 

Suddenly all of last night comes flooding back to you.

You made an absolute ass of yourself. 

Now that your head is clear, you can’t tell if Dave was interested in you or just yanking your chain to make you look like more of a fucking goof than you already are. Really, that’s just your luck, isn’t it?

You take a sip of your cup of joe and almost choke on it. 

Last night you agreed to go out with Dave. Sometime this week. So you can get to know him better and get comfortable enough to play in front of him.

Holy shit, you were so splifficated last night you were even more emboldened and stupid than usual. You would have never agreed to this when you were sober. No way in hell.

Dave’s smirking face and nimble fingers flash briefly in your mind.

Okay, maybe one way in hell.

Still, that was embarrassing and terrible and you hate that it happened. You groan and go back to your coffee. Why couldn’t you have drank enough to forget?

“Are you okay, Karkat?” Your dad touches your arm to get your attention. “You look a little flushed.”

“What?” Just thinking about Dave makes your face heat up with embarrassment and shame. “No, I’m okay. Everything’s fine, I’m fine. Just peachy keen.”

“Peachy keen?” He repeats. “So nothing interesting happened at the Penthouse last night?”

Your blush deepens without you meaning to. “No.”

“You’re gonna have to get better at lying if you want to keep your place in the organization.”

You sigh and pick up a piece of bacon. “I know.” 

“So what’s the plan for today?” He asks. You appreciate the change of subject. “You have class tomorrow, right? Do you have anything you need to study for?”

You wash down a mouthful of bacon and egg with a gulp of coffee. “Now that you mention it, yes. Soon as I finish this I should probably ankle out of here and down to the library for awhile. Are you going to need me for anything tonight?”

“Nope.” Your dad says through a mouthful of egg. “You’re completely free. Just remember that it’s Sunday and you have class tomorrow morning, so you should come home early. No running off to any juice joints and getting yourself bent to hell and back again.”

“Please.” You roll your eyes. “Give me a little credit, I’m not that screwy.”

He turns towards you in the chair and cups his hands around his mouth. “ _BEG TO DIFFER._ ”

You flinch as your head begins throbbing again. “Fuck you.”

“Consider that your punishment for being a little shit yesterday.” He gives you a light punch on the arm. “Do whatever you want, just don’t take any wooden nickels from nobody.”

“You know I won’t.” You finish off your breakfast and put your plate in the sink. “I’ll be going, then.”

Your dad sips his coffee and watches you intently as you fold your blanket up. You throw it over your arm and carry it up the stairs, back up to your room. You trade your blanket for a couple textbooks and your half filled notebook.

As you come back down again, he shouts from the kitchen. “Remember to take a coat, it’s cold out today.”

You roll your eyes again but grab your Ulster off the coat rack before heading out the door. You’re pulling it on as soon as you’re out the door. He wasn’t kidding, it’s colder than an ice house right before the harvest. 

Now that you think about it, it’s about that time of year, isn’t it? You hop a trolley and head off towards the library. Cold wind blows through your hair and stings your face. Winter is arriving fast, you can sense the impending threat of snowfall in the air.

The trolley stops, you hop off and walk the remaining few blocks to the library. Your hands are shoved into your pockets to keep them from freezing. Surprisingly, your breath is somehow not puffing in front of your face. 

Damn, you wish you had a smoke right now. Maybe you’ll pick some up on your way home.

You enter the library and immediately make a beeline over to an empty table so you can study. 

It must be twenty minutes or so by the time your eyes start to wander away from the textbook and your pencil stops moving. You grind your teeth in frustration. You’ve only been here for a few minutes but already your mind’s too muddled to stay on track with this. 

Maybe if you picked up something to occupy your time for a bit. Just to take a quick breather. Stretch your legs a little.

You stand up and abandon your things at the table. You doubt anyone would want to steal your things, and even if they did then the joke’s on them. Your handwriting’s a mess and the textbook is indecipherable. 

You wander off towards the fiction section, gravitating closer to the romance to check if they’ve gotten any new titles since you’ve been here last. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything worth checking out. Instead you pluck _The Age of Innocence_ off the shelf again and bring it back with you to the table. 

You’re honestly not sure why you don’t own this book yet, considering you’ve been picking it up over and over again from the library since it came out four years ago. You’ve probably checked this book out more than every other person who’s checked it out combined. 

You lay the book face down on the table and turn back to your textbook. Somehow, though, you still can’t seem to pay attention. 

You’re not even taking notes, you’re too busy tapping your pencil against the table. It’s too quiet in here, you need some form of sound to help you focus. But you’re never gonna be able to get this done if you have to split your attention between creating library appropriate noise and studying. 

Okay, that settles it. You need to leave.

You gather your things back up and, after an intense internal debate, decide to check the book out for the nth time. You exit the library and hoof it to the nearest drugstore and pick up the pack of smokes you promised yourself before you left the house. 

You hop the first trolley you find. You have a good idea of where you can get some studying done comfortably. 

It’s a short trip on the trolley and a walk up four flights of stairs and then you’re at their door. You have to shuffle all of your shit to one arm so you can knock.

The door cracks open, you can see half of Rose’s face peeking out at you. “Karkat? I wasn’t expecting you here. What brings you over?”

“I’m having a hard time studying solo. I’m not about to admit I’m a fucking palooka, I’m just easily distracted. You and Jade are both real sharp so I was wondering if I could come in and you could help me out?”

Rose snorts, but opens the door more anyway. “Karkat, are you trying to feed me a line? I doubt either of us would actually be able to help you out of this little self made jam you’ve found yourself in.”

“Fine, you don’t actually need to do anything. I just need to some fucking sound or I can’t focus. Do you mind if I just sit in and study while the two of you ignore me and barber on like usual?”

“Hm.” She strokes her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose that could be fine. But what’s in it for me if I do?” 

You dig around in your pocket and pull out your unopened smokes. “I just picked up a pack of gaspers on my way here. Want one?”

“That’s a persuasive argument. Fine.” Rose holds her palm open. “Butt me.”

You open the pack and extract the first cigarette for her. She accepts it, holding it between her fingers and moving out of the doorway. 

If The Penthouse is a good example of Rose’s taste in decor, their apartment is a perfect representation of Jade’s. It’s really eclectic, nonone of the furniture really matches. Despite that, the entire place feels...warm. Lived in. A comfortable place to rest awhile. On top of that, there’s all the plants. You have no idea what kind they are, but they’re green and vibrant and so alive. It’s like walking into a garden without leaving the comfort of home.

“Make yourself at home. But just so you know Jade just made lunch and there’s only enough for three so I hope you’re not hungry.”

“Not a problem, I ate before I came.” You walk in and get yourself settled on the couch. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Will do.” She closes the door, you can hear her moving towards the kitchen. “Jade, Karkat’s here.”

“Terrible timing on your part, Karkat, but good to see you.” Jade yells to you from the kitchen. Something in there smells amazing. Warm and a little spicy. 

“We’re supposed to ignore him and go about our daily business.”

“In that case good to not see you.” There’s some other noises in the kitchen. Some clammering like plates and cups being set down. “Lunch is ready if you wanted to call him in and get his plate.”

You open up your textbook and search for the page you were on. “Thanks for the offer, but I already told Rose I ate.”

“That’s nice, Karkat, but this isn’t for you.” Jade replies, confusing the hell out of you. 

A door closes to your left, and you turn your head. Jade and Rose are both in the kitchen, who the fuck is coming out of the bedroom? 

Oh what the fuck holy shit it’s Dave what the hell is he doing here? Dave? Dave is here? Fuck fuck fuck fuck what

“No need to call on me, I heard everything and am very excited to get my chewing on.” You try to keep your eyes on the paragraphs in front of you, but your eyes betray you and you end up glancing up at him. 

Your heart jumps into your throat when your eyes meet his dark glasses. He’s looking right at you, there’s the slightest smile on his face. “Hey there, old boy, fancy meeting you here. What brings you over? Caught a whiff of Jade’s cooking and busted in to chow down with us?”

“No, I’m not a mooch.” You hold up your textbook. “And I’m not just here to lollygag around and chat, I’m here to study.”

“Sounds counterintuitive but alright I guess.” Dave shrugs. “Hey, do you have apple juice?”

“Seeing as we’re all grown adults? No, I don’t have apple juice.” Jade comes out of the kitchen, carrying two plates. “We do have apples if you want me to cut one up for you to suck on.”

“Thanks but I think I’ll manage just fine without it.” Dave takes a plate from her. “A glass of water’d be swell.”

“You know where the sink is.” Rose comments from the kitchen. 

“You’re right, I do. But I’m not in the kitchen right now. As a matter of fact,” Dave falls heavily beside you on the couch, “I’m sitting down so I can’t possibly get myself a glass of water.”

“Very well.” You hear Rose strike a match. The tantalizingly dense smell of tobacco quickly follows. “Try not to die of dehydration in the meantime.”

“Oh believe me, I won’t be getting thirsty any time soon sitting next to this tall drink of water.” 

You can feel the heat rising to your face against your will. 

“Karkat? Tall drink of water?” Jade snorts. “He’s a shotglass from a puddle at best. No offense, of course.”

She tousles your hair from behind, you try to swat her hand away from your head. “Stop it! Stop talking about me! You’re distracting and I’m trying to read.”

“Aw, stop, you’re embarrassing him.” Rose laughs. “Dave, what did I tell you about embarrassing my friends?”

“What did I do?” Dave whines, thowing his hands up defensively in the air. “I was just harmlessly flirting, I didn’t even say anything as bad as last night!”

“Last night?” You can practically hear the curiosity dripping from Jade’s voice. She leans over the edge of the couch, you can feel the heat of her body close to yours and some of her hair tickling the back of your neck. “What did you say, exactly? I’m disappointed I didn’t get to hear any of the fun.”

“We’re not having fun, we’re ignoring me and studying!” You snap, flailing your arms around the space. “I’m not here, don’t talk about me at all!”

“But talking about you is so much fun, though!” Jade ruffles your hair again. “You’re so easily riled up.”

“This was a really dumb idea,” you close your textbook and start to gather your things, “I’m heading on home. Rose, while I’m here, can I borrow a light?”

“Hey, wait a minute, where are you going?” Dave pulls on the hem of your shirt, trying to drag you back down onto the couch. “You can’t just dust out and leave me high and dry over here! Stay, jaw, maybe get some reading done! What’s the harm?”

“Yes, Karkat, stay.” Rose agrees as she exits the kitchen and hands you a match. “We’ll properly ignore you for the rest of the day.”

“You better.” You snatch the match out of her hand and sit back down on the couch. “Thanks.”

You strike, light, and open up your textbook again. This time they do manage to do a pretty good job of ignoring you.

“So, Dave, what do you think of the food?”

“It’s good! Honestly I wasn’t expecting too much so I’m shocked.”

“A little rude, but I’ll take it.” 

Their voices fade into the background as you finally crackdown on studying. Between the noise and the taste of nicotine and smoke on your tongue, you’re able to get through everything you need to with ease. 

It’s about an hour before you think before you close it for good and fall back against the couch. Damn, your neck and shoulders are killing you. And before you knew it you’ve burned through four whole smokes, the butts littered on the coffeetable on a strategically placed plate beside your notes. 

“What’s going on? Book’s closed, and unless you can see through covers I’m guessing that means you’re done studying?” Dave asks, inching closer to you on the couch. 

“Yes.” You nod, pushing the book further away from you with your foot. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Goodness, Karkat, I told you yesterday that Dave was staying with us. It’s like it went in one ear and out the other.” Jade tsks at you, shaking her head. At some point she moved to the other side of Dave on the couch. When did that hapen?

“Yeah, I dropped onto their doorstep and said ‘hi I’m Dave, your cousin from out of town. Can I stay with you?’ and then Rose said ‘of course, how much do you have on you?' and here I am.”

“As if I would let a relative of mine starve in the streets or blow all his cash on a hotel when he could give it to me instead.” Rose replies, languishing on the couch’s arm beside you. “That and he’s the only relative of mine I’ve had contact with in years.”

“Don’t you have that cousin who lives in California that you send letters to from time to time?” Jade asks.

“Roxy? Yes. That reminds me she told me she wants to come visit us someday. Possibly sometime next spring. Dave, are you still planning on being here by then? You could meet her, it could be a big Lalonde get together.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think so. I don’t plan on being here that long.”

Oh? “How long are you planning on being here for?”

Dave grins. “Aw, Karkat, are you worried we won’t get to spend much time together?”

“No! No, of course not.” You deny quickly. “Don’t flatter yourself, I just met you.”

“No worries, we can fix that. I may not be here long, but I think I can make time for you.” He lifts his weird glasses and winks at you. 

You roll your eyes at him and start to pack up your things. “As lovely as that sounds I’m going to say no to that.” You stand up. “At least for today. I should be getting home.”

“Goodbye, Karkat.”

“Be seeing you!”

“Bye.” You wave goodbye to the three of them as you shrug your coat on. Then you pick up your textbook and head for the door. “Thanks for letting me take up your space.”

You’re about to make your exit when you hear Dave yell “Wait!” and scramble away from the couch and towards you.

Obviously you have to turn around, of course you can’t miss whatever it is he’s squawking about.  
“Here.” Dave holds a book out to you. “You almost forgot this.”

It’s the copy of _The Age of Innocence_ you picked up at the library today. “Oh wow, thanks.”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve heard of that book. You should tell me how it is later.”

“You’ve never heard of it? Really?” You’re completely flabbergasted by this. “You know, what? Fuck it, then. Here, you can read it.”

You give the book back to him.

“Are you sure?” Dave asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I can just get it from the library myself. Didn’t you want to read it?”

“It’s fine.” You shrug. “I’ve already read it before. Anyway, I have to get going now. Return that to the library when you’re done.”

You open the door.

“Wait wait, one more thing!” 

“Geez louise, Dave, just let him go home!” Jade yells from the couch. “Stop trying to vamp the poor boy, he’ll be back eventually.”

You’d laugh if this wasn’t an embarrassing situation directly involving you. “You were saying?”

“I know I didn’t take you out like I offered, but this did definitely count as us spending time together and there was food involved. So I was wondering,” he clears his throat as if he’s about to say something important, “would you be willing to play with me sometime?”

“No, sorry. It’s going to take a lot more than some shameless flirtation and proximity for you to get me to blow my horn for you.” You shake your head. “Why don’t you read that book and we’ll discuss it over lunch sometime.”

“Fine.” He sighs, flipping idly through the book. “But mark my words, Karkat, someday I’ll get you to play with me and it’ll be absolutely swell.”

“Sure you will.” You roll your eyes. “See you later, Dave.”

 

It’s even colder out than it was when you left this morning. You huddle inside your coat as best you can to keep it all away as you jog to the nearest trolley stop. Looking up at the sky while you wait for the trolley to arrive, you can’t help but think that it really could snow any minute. By the time it gets there, your fingers and nose are starting to feel numb. 

You’re relieved when you finally make it home and into the enveloping warmth of indoors. You throw your coat off and rub your hands together in an attempt to warm them up again. Maybe you’ll make some hot chocolate, that would probably work better.

Do you even have the stuff for that? 

Time to check the kitchen.

You walk in and find your dad sitting at the kitchen table. “I’m home. Have you moved at all since I left?”

“Welcome back.” His face and tone are serious. “We have to talk.”

“Okay.” Fuck, he’s making you nervous. You take a seat across from him. “What?”

“Ampora rang while you were out, he didn’t sound too happy.” He says. “He wants to see you pronto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! I hope you liked it! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this!! I hope you liked it


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